System and method for pricing secondary inventory

ABSTRACT

A method for identifying an optimal ticket for purchase and using the optimal ticket to open a venue for a gate of a venue.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation in part of and claims priorityto U.S. application Ser. No. 14/562,606 filed Dec. 5, 2014, which claimspriority to and incorporates by reference, for all purposes, thefollowing provisional application: U.S. Provisional App. 61/912,850,filed Dec. 6, 2013.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer systems and networks have facilitated the task of buying,selling, and transferring goods. For example, global computer networks,such as the Internet, have allowed purchasers to quickly and efficientlyseek and purchase goods on-line. One example of a market for goods thathas been implemented using computer systems and networks is thesecondary event ticket market. The secondary ticket market encompassesall instances in which live event tickets trade after the original pointof purchase.

The secondary market exists for several reasons. First, the value ofevent tickets are especially time sensitive with the ticket losing 100%of its value after the event has occurred. As a result, if a ticketholder cannot attend the event, the only way to realize any value forthe ticket is to sell the ticket in the secondary market. Second, venueshave a fixed supply of seating, so high-demand events have asupply/demand imbalance resulting in tickets with a greater value thanthe original issue price (e.g. face value). Some ticket holders arewilling to sell their tickets for these high demand events therebyrealizing a profit based on their original purchase price. Third, manyticket sellers provide season tickets. Some season ticket holders cannotattend one or more of the season's events and the secondary marketprovides these season tickets holders with a method to resell thetickets for events that they cannot attend.

There are now a number of internet sites that allow ticket holders toresell tickets to others. Examples include StubHub, Razor Gator, andTicketExchange. These sites list the event for which the ticket isvalid, the locations of the seat (typically by section, row, andsometimes seat), the number of adjacent seats that are available, andthe prices per ticket for each ticket in the listing. Many sites nowoffer a general view of the venue to facilitate locating the availableticket within the event venue.

Even with the information provided on any given site, it is still verydifficult to compare available tickets to determine the best value. Manydifferent factors determine ticket values, not all of which is obviousto an average customer. From the above, it can be seen that improvementsto methods and systems related to the sale and distribution of ticketsis highly desirable.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and systemfor the sale and distribution of goods. More specifically, the presentinvention is directed to a method and system for determining the optimalticket for purchase in the original and/or secondary market. In anembodiment, the determining the optimal ticket for purchase can includedetermining the premium or discount of the tickets for sale in thesecondary market, by comparing the discount or premium of each ticketwith other tickets from the same price category or section, anddetermining the value of each ticket relative to similar tickets to thesame event. This information can be further weighted based on userinputs such as their price range of interest, the number of tickets thatmust be together, or a desire to highly weight other ticket attributes(e.g. low row number, proximity to the aisle, etc.).

The present invention is also directed to a method and system fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase when considering severalevents simultaneously. Specifically, the present invention determinesthe optimal ticket across several events by determining the normalizedpremium or normalized price for each event that a user wants to compareand then presenting the optimal tickets across all-selected events.

The present invention is also directed to a method and system fordynamically determining the price to sell a ticket such that the ticketwill be an optimal ticket for purchase. Specifically, the presentinvention determines the price of tickets of seats that are similar tothe ticket that a seller has to sell and dynamically determines theprice that the seller should charge to ensure that the ticket is of bestvalue to a customer.

To achieve these and other advantages, as embodied broadly and describedherein, a system and method to determine the optimal ticket in theoriginal and/or secondary market includes means for aggregatinginformation from the electronic ticket market and may include one ormore sites on the secondary market and/or one or more sites whereoriginal tickets are sold (e.g. a team's website, Ticket Master, etc.).This information may include seat location (e.g. section, row and seatnumber), number of seats available, price per ticket, ticket identifier,and other pertinent information.

In another aspect, the invention includes s system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includes a meansof adding the face value of the ticket to the information from thesecondary market where the face value of the ticket could include fullprice, season ticket price, current retail price, or other originalpricing information.

In another aspect, the invention includes a system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includes a meansof determining the premium or discount of the tickets in the secondaryticket market and/or original ticket market relative to the face value.

In another aspect, the invention includes a system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includes a meansof correlating the premium or discount for tickets in a specific sectionand/or original ticket price category with the row number therebyidentifying tickets that have a price that is lower than other ticketsin the same section relative to the row.

In another aspect, the invention includes a system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includescomparing tickets for more than one event where the premium or price foreach event is normalized by the average price for the vent and thetickets are then compared to identify tickets with the lower normalizedpremium or normalized price.

In another aspect, the invention includes a system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includesinputting purchaser preference information such as importance ofproximity to the event (i.e. low row number), importance of an aisleseat, importance or a particular side of the venue, importance of aspecific section, desire for a parking pass, or similar preferenceinformation.

In another aspect, the invention includes a system and method fordetermining the optimal ticket for purchase. The method includescombining the preference information with the pricing information toprovide the best available seat(s) for the purchaser.

Many benefits are recognized through the various embodiments of thepresent invention described previously and throughout the presentspecification. Such benefits include a comprehensive and efficientmethod for determining relative ticket values for specified events orgroupings of events, which can be used to provide an easier way forcustomers to buy tickets and for sellers to sell tickets. Other benefitswill be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that themechanisms described can be applied to other communications systems aswell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitutepart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a typical web site that sells tickets in thesecondary market.

FIG. 2 shows the type of information a user would see on a secondaryticket site after searching for a particular team or performer.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a secondary ticket site once a specific eventis selected by the user.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram representing a method for identifying anoptimal ticket for purchase according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 shows and example of the type of information that is presented toa customer after they select a specific event to attend.

FIG. 6 is an example of a questionnaire that could be used to furtherrefine the optimal seat for purchase based on customer preferences.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram representing a method for identifying anoptimal ticket for purchase according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram representing a system for identifying anoptimal ticket for purchase according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the XML text that is used to locate ticketsfor sale on a selected site according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the ticket price data that is used todetermine the premium or discount at which tickets are selling for inthe secondary ticket market.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the type of ticket information that isderived from the secondary ticket market according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12 shows an example of secondary tickets where a premium ordiscount has been calculated according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 shows the tickets listed for one specific section of a venue forone particular event according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B show a graphical analysis and table of the samesection as used in FIG. 13, respectively, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15 shows all tickets listed for $145 for the same event as thetickets shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In this case, the list includes seats in differentsections. The premium for each seat is also provided.

FIG. 16 shows an analysis of the dependency of the premium for all $145tickets on the section and row number according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 shows the relative value of all $145 tickets when row andsection are take into account according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 shows the premium for all tickets with an original price of $15or $20 and indicates which tickets provide the highest value accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows tickets with an original ticket price of $xx according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a CMYK color spectrum and an RGB color spectrum accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a web site of a ticket reseller thatdescribes their affiliates program.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method of using an outputted ticket to access agate to an event venue in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 illustrates a method of using an outputted ticket to access adispenser within an event venue in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and system for the saleand distribution of goods. More specifically, the present invention isdirected to a method and system for determining the optimal ticket forpurchase in the original and/or secondary market. The followingdescription is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to makeand use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by theinventor for carrying out the invention. References are now made indetail to best modes of the present invention, examples of which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

As described previously, the task of determining the optimal value for aticket is still very difficult even with the information provided on anygiven site. Seats within any section often vary significantly in priceand many venues have multiple sections that offer similar views thatmust be manually compared in order to determine the best price.Furthermore, pricing typically varies as the row number increases (i.e.the seat is further away from the field, stage, etc.) and specificpreferences such as proximity to an aisle can change pricing and/ordesirability. Finding the optimal ticket for sale is even morecomplicated if one considers the large number of sites that list ticketsfor original sale and re-sale. Locating the optimal ticket can be evenfurther complicated by different fees, shipping charges, and other coststhat sites charge above and beyond listing price.

Furthermore, the optimal ticket may depend on the desires of thepurchaser. For instance, one purchaser may be willing to spend a littlemore to be closer to the event while some other purchaser may want tospend less and be a little further away from the event.

In addition, a purchaser may be flexible as to the exact time, date, orperformance that they can attend. For this purchaser, it is helpful tocompare tickets across multiple events at the same time so they canchoose the best value ticket across multiple events.

Fees and commissions also complicate the determination of best value.Sometimes the base cost of the ticket could seem like a good value, butonce fees and commissions are added on, another ticket is actually abetter value.

Given the challenges in determining the relative value of tickets in theoriginal and/or secondary market, it is therefore desirable to provide asystem and method for identifying the optimal ticket for purchase.

This invention provides a method to determine the optical ticket forpurchase. The optimal ticket is determined using software that comparesthe cost and location of tickets to other tickets being sold for thesame event. The software may further take into account other selectioncriteria provided by the purchaser to determine the optimal ticket giventhese multiple considerations.

This invention also provides a method for sellers to dynamically changethe amount they charge for tickets so that their tickets will be a bestvalue ticket when price and location is considered by a user. This isaccomplished by determining the value of other nearby tickets listed forsale and dynamically adjusting the total price of a seller's ticket sothat it is lower priced than other tickets offering a similar experience(i.e. location, amenities, etc.).

This invention also provides a method to determine the optimal ticketfor purchase across multiple events. For instance, if someone istravelling to New York and wants to see a Broadway play, they may wantto find the optimal ticket during the time of their visit and not onlythe optimal ticket for a specific time. In this case, the optimal ticketcan be determined by comparing the normalized premium across multipleevents. The premium can be calculated within each individual event andthen the average premium for the event can be determined. Then anormalized premium for each ticket for that event can be computed bydividing the individual premiums by the average (or median) premium. Thenormalized premiums can be compared across more than one event and inthis way the best ticket across multiple events can be determined.

It is also possible to determine the optimal ticket across multipleevents using the actual ticket price (instead of the premium), butdividing each ticket price in a section by the average price in thatsection to create a normalized price and then compare the normalizedprice across multiple events. Finally, it is also possible to determinethe price versus row or premium versus row such that the relative valuecan be determined on a row by row basis within an event and thencompared across multiple events.

The present invention includes a method of finding one or more optimaltickets for purchase that allows a consumer interested in obtaining aticket to an event to easily determine the best available ticket to thatevent. This greatly simplifies the purchasing process and guarantees apurchaser that they locate the best valued ticket. Further details areprovided in the accompanying figures and description below.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a typical web site that sells tickets in thesecondary market. FIG. 1A shows the information around the outer edge ofthe front page. This information is relatively static in nature. FIG. 1Bshows the information in the center of the front page. This informationmay be changed on a more regular basis.

The first step in determining and optimal ticket price is to determinethe target event, that is, the event for which the user wants topurchase tickets. The purchaser can also provide information about thenumber of tickets that will be purchased. The purchaser would input thisinformation into a web site similar to that depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 2 shows the type of information a user would see on a secondaryticket site if the user searches for a particular team or performer.This view provides a list of events that include the chosen team orperformer. In this case, the event name, date, venue, and price rangeare provided along with the option to buy or sell.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a secondary ticket site once a specific eventis selected by the user. Available ticket information is typicallypresented as a section, row, number of seats available, and the priceper ticket. Additional information about any single listing can beobtained by clicking on the “view details” icon.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram representing a method for identifying anoptimal ticket for purchase that would be experienced by a user. Insteadof manually comparing available tickets across one or more sites, thesoftware automatically selects the best tickets available. These resultscan be modified based on user preferences to further reduce the numberof optimal tickets. Other variations, modifications, and alternativeswill be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 5 shows and example of the type of information that is presented toa customer after they select a specific event to attend. The purchasercan mouse over a specific ticket in the list and see it highlighted inthe stadium view and may also get a visual image of the view from thechosen seat. Alternatively, the purchaser can mouse over a specific seatin the stadium view and the listing will be highlighted and a view fromthe seat may be provided. FIG. 6 is an example of a questionnaire thatcould be used to further refine the optimal seat for purchase based oncustomer preferences.

The second step of identifying the optimal ticket value is to assembleinformation about tickets available in the primary and/or secondarymarkets for the event of interest. This can be done manually or can beaccomplished using automated computer software, so called crawlingsoftware that retrieves information from one or more public websitesaccessed via the internet. Examples of the obtainable informationavailable from these kinds of websites are shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5.This may be done in real-time (i.e. when the request is made) or may bedone automatically on a periodic basis to update and store informationin a database.

In addition, computer software can directly access private databases ofticket information if access has been arranged. Such databases caninteract with the automated computer software via a plurality of meanssuch as SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol), direct SQL client-serverinterchange, etc. Software access to databases of ticket information isalso available via web-based XML interchange and is sponsored by variouslarge ticket resellers under various “affiliate programs”. In thefollowing we use the generic term “crawling” to cover any and all ofthese methods of accessing ticket information from the secondary market.

FIGS. 7 and 8 depict a method and system for identifying an optimalticket for purchase according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 7 shows the steps that the software executes to provide informationabout the optimal ticket to the purchaser while FIG. 8 shows thesoftware flow. (A) is a crawler that searches the web for ticketlistings. (B) is a database that stores pricing information aboutevents. (C) is the web interface that a potential ticket purchaser usesto interface with the ticket data. The can be other variations,modifications, and alternatives as well.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the XML text that is used to locate ticketsfor sale on a selected site. If internet sites are crawled, the analysissoftware first assembles a ticket file in native xml code as shown inFIG. 9.

This native xml file is the parsed by the software to extract relevantvariables such as Ticket ID, Section, Row, Seat (if available),quantity, price, and other special indicators such as whether or not theseat is an aisle seat etc. The software uses proprietary rules to“understand” the arena seating plan, and relate this to the xml ticketinformation, which often contains the seating information in free-formEnglish which is not directly parsable. For example, a courtside seatmay be annotated “CT”, “Court”, “Courtside”, “Floor”, etc. The softwarehas rules and intelligence to uniquely decode these annotations. In thisfirst step of the crawler/parser, the essential parameters of the tickethave been parsed and stored in a ticket object data structure or array.For example, the ticket object may include information related tosection, row, row qualifier (e.g. courtside), seat availability, seatqualifier (e.g. aisle), etc.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the ticket price data that is used todetermine the premium or discount at which tickets are selling for inthe secondary ticket market.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the type of ticket information that isderived from the secondary ticket market according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. This information may be supplemented with anidentifier that indicates the actual site that produced the information.

The parsed and decoded ticket data is then stored in a database, withannotations on the event ID, game, date etc, to which this refers, inaddition to the time and date of the crawling and analysis. An exampleof this data is shown in FIG. 11. The storage of this information allowssubsequent analysis of ticket data over time. The database used may beany one of a number of standard types, such as ORACLE, Microsoft SQLserver, etc.

It is also possible to crawl multiple sites, and the software is capableof doing this. Data from multiple sites will be aggregated so that alldata for a given event is easily accessible. Sites can include secondaryticket sites such as StubHub or RazorGator, team sites, league sites,original ticket sites such as Ticketmaster, or even other web sitesincluding social networking sites.

The software also relates the ticket price to the “face value” of theticket (such as the season ticket holder price), which is obtained fromother public and private sources. This information is venue dependent,and may be specific event dependent. For example, for a basketball teamthat plays in one venue that is configured the same for every game, thedata is venue dependent but not event dependent. For other events, say aconcert, the data may be event dependent because seating may be specificto a particular artist or event.

For each venue/event the “official” ticket pricing is stored in an arraywith an identical data structure to the above, plus a field for thePrice. The price for every unique section, row, etc is stored. Thesoftware then searches for a match between the input ticket datastructure above, and the stored price structure. If an exact match isfound the price is returned. If an exact match is not found then thesearch fails and an error code is returned.

Generating the array of prices may require complex logic to correctlyidentify the price. For example the following code (in which the logicis embedded in the code, as opposed to being stored in a table)correctly interprets various complex combinations of Section/Row:

if SectionNumber=115 or Section Number=116 then if RowString$<>”” thenPriceSTH=95 else if RowCTflag=0 and RowNumber<>0 then PriceSTH=50 ifRowCTflag=1 OR CourtsideFlag−1 then if RowNumber=1 then PriceSTH=1100ifRowNumber=2 then PriceSTH=450 endif endif endif

FIG. 12 shows an example of secondary tickets where a premium ordiscount has been calculated according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In this case, the premium or discount has been calculatedrelative to the season ticket price (STHPrice).

Once the ticket database is established it may be queried in a number ofways to extract relevant information. For example, a list of the ticketsbeing offered can be combined together with the face value price asshown in FIG. 12. In this case, the premium or discount has been addedto the file. This value is calculated by subtracting the face value (orsome other original price) from the listed value and dividing the resultby the face value (or original price). This calculation could also bedone on a periodic basis and stored in a database for retrieval when auser inquires about tickets to a specific event.

FIG. 13 shows the tickets listed for one specific section of a venue forone particular event according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In this case, the best value has been highlighted where thebest value was determined solely based on the lowest premium.

FIGS. 14A and 14B show a graphical analysis and table of the samesection as used in FIG. 13, respectively, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. In FIG. 14A, premium for all of the seats insection 101 are plotted versus the row number for the particular seat.It can be seen that seats with low row number (i.e. closer to the event)are listed at a higher premium. In FIG. 14B, the tickets are listedalong with their premiums. An additional column indicates the value ofthe ticket when row and premium are considered. It can be seen that theticket with the best value is different than the ticket with the lowestpremium as indicated in FIG. 13.

Once information about available tickets has been aggregated acomparison of ticket value can be determined. This can be done using twodifferent approaches. In the first approach, the premium or discount asdescribed above is used to determine the optimal ticket available forpurchase. Since there may be many different original ticket priceswithin the venue, it is not adequate to just determine the lowestpremium or largest discount (since the location of this seat may notmatch the purchaser's preference). We first parse the tickets based onthe original ticket price. We can then determine the lowest premium orlargest discount for each ticket in each original ticket price category.This calculation does not take into account the row number for the seat.For most venues, there is a strong dependence on the premium or discountand the row number. In order to improve upon providing simply the lowestpremium or largest discount, an analysis of premium/discount versus rownumber is preformed. An example is shown in FIG. 14. First, thepremium/discount versus row number is fitted to a mathematical function.Ideally this fit is a straight line but other fits could be possible. Inthis case, the fit indicates that,Premium=−(0.1814*Row)+3.2893

The deviation from this fit can be calculated for each ticket. For eachticket, the predicted premium can be calculated based on the row numberfor the ticket. The deviation from the predicted value can becalculated. For example, the fifth ticket in FIG. 14b is in row 6. Fromthe equation above, the predicted premium is,Premium_((predicted))=−(0.1814*6)+3.2893So,Premium_((predicted))=2.2009

The ticket value can be calculated by comparing the actual premium tothe predicted premium,Ticket Value=Premium_((predicted))−Premium_((actual))For this ticket,Ticket Value=2.2009−1.4138=0.7871

The best ticket will have the highest ticket value (the lowest actualpremium relative to that predicted by the fit for all tickets). Thiscorresponds to the ticket that falls the farthest below the fit in FIG.14. By comparing the ticket value for all tickets in this manner, theticket with the best value when row number is considered is determined.Combining the results of this analysis with the analysis above that didnot consider row number, we get two tickets for the section thatrepresent the lowest price and the best value. Both of these tickets canbe stored for presentation to the purchaser.

This analysis can be further augmented by looking for other tickets thatare close in value to the best valued ticket. A threshold can be addedthat identifies any tickets where their value is within a certainpercentage of the ticket with the highest value. For example, if we setthis threshold at 5%, then we could calculated a Ticket Value threshold,Ticket Value Threshold=Optimal Ticket Value−(Optimal TicketValue*Threshold Percent)Ticket Value Threshold=0.7871−(0.7871*0.05)Ticket Value Threshold=0.7477

The rest of the tickets can be analyzed to determine if any othertickets meet this requirement. In this particular case, no other ticketsin FIG. 14 meet this ticket value threshold requirement. The thresholdpercent could be a constant or could be derived from a user input thatdescribed how many choices the user would like to see. If the user wantsfew choices, this variable would be set to a low number. If they wouldlike to see more possibilities, this number could be increased. Asetting of zero returns only the original ticket found without theticket value threshold.

FIG. 15 shows all tickets listed for $145 for the same event as thetickets shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In this case, the list includes seats in differentsections. The premium for each seat is also provided.

FIG. 16 shows an analysis of the dependency of the premium for all $145tickets on the section and row number according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The example shown here uses a linear fit but otherfits (e.g. exponential, logarithmic, or polynomial) could also be used.

In some instances there are several sections in an arena at the sameoriginal ticket price as shown in FIG. 10. In this case sections 101,102, 109, 110, 111, and 112 all have the same original ticket price. Insome cases, the value of one section may provide enhanced value relativeto other sections. For instance, sections 101 and 111 may be consideredsuperior sections since they are more centrally located to the court. Inthis case, the relative value can be determined as described above usingonly row number or the premium can be determined using a least squaredanalysis where row and section are treated as variables. In the lattercase, the sections are assigned a separate value based on theirlocation. In this case, sections 101 and 111 are assigned one value (avalue of one) and sections 102, 110, 112, and 119 are assigned a secondvalue (two in this case). The fit of premium to row and section can thenbe calculated. This fit is shown in FIG. 16. This fit can then be usedto determine the ticket value as described above.

If no original pricing information is known, the aggregated ticketprices can be compared on a section by section basis since it will notbe possible to determine pricing on an original price basis. This mayresult in more listing than would be provided if the original ticketvalues were known.

FIG. 17 shows the relative value of all $145 tickets when row andsection are take into account according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 shows the premium for all tickets with an original price of $15or $20 and indicates which tickets provide the highest value accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. For $20 tickets, two ticketswere chosen since they were within 3.5% of each other. The software canbe configured to provide only the highest value ticket or the highestvalue ticket and all others within a certain threshold of that value.

FIG. 19 shows tickets with an original ticket price of $xx according toan embodiment of the present invention. In this case, two tickets wereselected as high value. One ticket is in the lower rows (lower than row8) while the second ticket is in the higher rows (great than or equal torow 8). This shows the ability of the software to be programmed to lookfor optimal tickets at the lower row number and higher row number withinone price point. This provides the purchaser with more purchasingoptions.

Once a set of tickets are determined to have optimal value, these ticketchoices can be displayed to the purchaser through the web site. Anexample of such a list is shown in FIG. 5. Each optimal seat can also bedisplayed in a view of the venue. The arena display consists of a filein Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg) format. The file can be produced byproprietary software that takes in the locations of seats from accurateblueprints or drawings of the arena seating and produces the desiredfile.

A portion of the file is shown below:

<?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“UTF-8” standalone=“no”?> <!-- Created withInkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) --> <svgxmlns:dc=“http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/”xmlns:cc=“http://web.resource.org/cc/”xmlns:rdf=“http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#”xmlns:svg=“http://www.w3.org/2000/svg”xmlns=“http://www.w3.org/2000/svg”xmlns:sodipodi=“http://sodipodi.sourceforge.net/DTD/sodipodi-0.dtd”xmlns:inkscape=“http://www.inkscape.org/namespaces/inkscape” id=“svg2”sodipodi:version=“0.32” inkscape:version=“0.45.1” width=“9600”height=“7199” version=“1.0” sodipodi:docbase=“C:\Documents andSettings\User\Desktop\True View Beginnings” sodipodi:docname=“ClippersArena Auto Seat Labeled Backup.svg”inkscape:output_extension=“org.inkscape.output.svg.inkscape”>  <metadata id=“metadata7”>  <rdf:RDF> <cc:Work rdf:about=“”> <dc:format>image/svg+xml</dc:format>  <dc:type rdf:resource=“http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/StillImage” /> </cc:Work> </rdf:RDF>  </metadata>  <defs  id=“defs5” />  <sodipodi:namedview inkscape:window-height=“984”  inkscape:window-width=“1680” inkscape:pageshadow=“2”  inkscape:pageopacity=“0.0” guidetolerance=“10.0”  gridtolerance=“10.0”  objecttolerance=“10.0” borderopacity=“1.0”  bordercolor=“#666666”  pagecolor=“#ffffff” id=“base”  inkscape:zoom=“0.10737602”  inkscape:cx=“4800” inkscape:cy=“3599.5”  inkscape:window-x=“−4”  inkscape:window-y=“−4” inkscape:current-layer=“svg2”  showguides=“true” inkscape:guide-bbox=“true” />  <rect  style=“fill:gray;fill-opacity:.5” id=“101CT-A-1”  width=“35.999722”  height=“29.999722”  x=“4349.0815” y=“−5122.7612”  rx=“7.3107791”  ry=“7.3107786” transform=“matrix(7.1937329e−3,0.9999741,−0.9999741,7.1937329e−3,0,0)” inkscape:label=“#101CT-A-1” />  <rect style=“fill:gray;fill-opacity:.5”  id=“101CT-A-2”  width=“35.999722” height=“29.999722”  x=“4348.9063”  y=“−5091.2041”  rx=“7.3107791” ry=“7.3107786” transform=“matrix(7.1937323e−3,0.9999741,−0.9999741,7.1937323e−3,0,0)” inkscape:label=“#101CT-A-2” />

The file can be displayed in whole or in part on any browser that is.svg capable. Furthermore, the display can be zoomed in and out toprovide local or “global” views of the area of interest of the arena.This enables the user to rapidly compare different ticket offerings fromthe software.

The portion of the file below shows the data for one seat:

<rect style=“fill:gray;fill-opacity:.5” id=“101CT-A-1” width=“35.999722”height=“29.999722” x=“4349.0815” y=“−5122.7612” rx=“7.3107791”ry=“7.3107786”transform=“matrix(7.1937329e−3,0.9999741,−0.9999741,7.1937329e−3,0,0)”inkscape:label=“#101CT-A-1” />

The id of the seat is given in Section-Row-Seat format e.g. 101CT-A-2above, which is the first seat in the first Courtside row “A” in section101. Also specified is the location and size of the seat to be drawn.

FIG. 20 shows a CMYK color spectrum and an RGB color spectrum accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. The color of the seat isgiven by the code style=“fill:gray;fill-opacity:..5”. The software canmodify the color code so that a wide variety of information can bedisplayed to the user. For example, seats can be colored to indicateprice, value, or closeness to the users preferences. Different colorspectrum codings can be used to indicate “hot” or “desirable” to “cool”or “undesirable” as shown in FIG. 20.

The purchaser can then scroll or mouse over a ticket from the list. Thiswill highlight the location within the venue. This can also generate aview from the seat as is shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively, the purchasercan scroll or mouse over a seat within the venue and the seat will behighlighted in the list and a view from the seat can be presented. Inthis way, it is easy or a purchaser to compare seats available forpurchase. It is also possible to show only the venue view and to thenpresented the specific ticket information as the purchaser scrolls overthe seat in the venue view.

Additional data could be presented to help the purchaser with theirselection. For instance, the average price or premium for tickets in aspecific section or at a particular price point could be provided. Thiswould allow the customer to see the price or premium of the selectedseat relative to the price or premium of other similar seats.

It is possible to further reduce the number of choices that a purchaserhas by comparing the optimal seats to preferences that the purchaser hasprovided. One such preference is the number of seats that the customerwishes to purchase. Any ticket listing with a number of seats below therequired number could be eliminated reducing the number of choices. Someother possible preferences are listed in the questionnaire in FIG. 6. Byhaving the user complete a questionnaire of this type, the purchaser'spreferences can be compared to the list of optimal tickets to furtherreduce the ticket choices.

The user's preferences in terms of Price, Value, and Location can beincorporated into the selection of seats to offer the user by computinga distance metric M which gives an indication of the closeness of theparticular seat offering to the user's stated preferences. This metriccan range from 1 (exactly matches the users preference) to 0 (does notmatch at all). A threshold can then be put on the metric to offered onlyseats above the threshold.

The overall metric M can be made up of individual metrics for Price,Value, and Location, and others.

For Price, the “distance metric” between the seat price P_(s) and thedesired price P_(d) can be given by the normalized absolute difference|P_(s)−P_(d)|/P_(max). Similarly, for Value the metric could be:|V_(s)−V_(d)|/V_(max). For Location the actual distance in seats couldbe computed using a “city block” distance=seats difference+rowdifference |S_(s)−S_(d)|/S_(max).

These individual metrics can then be weighted by the stated preferencesfor Price, Value, and Location (w_(p), w_(v), w_(s)) to produce theoverall Metric M:M=w _(p) *|P _(s) −P _(d) |/P _(max) +w _(v) *|V _(s) −V _(d) |/V _(max)+w _(s) *|S _(s) −S _(d) |/S _(max)

Other more complex metrics are possible using pattern recognitiontechniques. For example, the available seat offerings can be consideredto have the “features” or “attributes” of Price, Value, Location, andother parameters. These features form a multi-dimensional feature spacethat may be non-linear, with the available seats forming points in thefeature space. The users preferences can then input into the space andthe nearest features (available seats) can be output by the softwareusing a number of Pattern Recognition techniques such as k-nearestneighbors, Support Vector Machines, Fisher Linear Discriminant,Principle Component Analysis, etc. These methods can be used to reducethe number of possible seat choices presented to a purchaser.

Once the purchaser locates the ticket of choice, the user clicks on thelisting. Once the purchaser locates the ticket of choice, the userclicks on the listing. If this listing was obtained from a different website then the user is directed to that website to complete theirtransaction. In this case, the site completing the transaction wouldtrack the referral and pay a commission based on the referral.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a web site of a ticket reseller thatdescribes their affiliates program. Many resellers have formal programsto allow other sites to refer buyers to their sites. Some sites alsohave special arrangements with large sellers to provide additional meansto interact with the secondary reseller's site. Many sites that selltickets have an affiliates program or other program to facilitate thereferral process. An example of a site describing this type of programis shown in FIG. 21.

If the listing came from the same web site as the comparison engine,then the user would be prompted to complete information about thepurchase of the ticket. Information such as name, address, emailaddress, phone number, credit card information, etc would be collectedso as to complete the purchase process.

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method foridentifying an optimal ticket for purchase. The method can includeaggregating available ticket information for a plurality of ticketsrelated to an event criteria, determining a relative ticket value foreach ticket from the plurality of tickets from the available ticketinformation, determining a list of desired tickets from the plurality oftickets meeting a desired criteria using the relative ticket values, andproviding the list of desired tickets.

In a specific embodiment, the available ticket information comprisesavailable ticket information from a secondary market or a resale market.The relative ticket values can be either a ticket price or ticketpremium that is adjusted for price, location, section, or row number, orother relevant factor. In a specific embodiment, the desired criteriainclude a lowest relative premium, a largest relative discount, or adesired location, or other user preference.

In a specific embodiment, the event criteria can include a single eventor two or more events. Determining the relative ticket value based onthese conditions can include the steps of comparing a price or premiumof each ticket from the plurality of tickets relative to tickets in theplurality of tickets from a similar location or having a similar price,normalizing the price or premium of each ticket from the plurality oftickets by dividing each price or premium by an average price or averagepremium to the same event of the two or more events, and comparing thenormalized price or normalized premium of each ticket from the pluralityof tickets across the two or more events or within the single event.

In a embodiment, the present invention provides computer code productprovided in a memory of a computing system programmed to identify anoptimal ticket for purchase. The computer code product can include: acode directed to capturing and aggregating available ticket informationfor a plurality of tickets related to an event criteria, a code directeddo determining a relative ticket value for each ticket from theplurality of tickets from the available ticket information, a codedirected to determining a list of desired tickets from the plurality oftickets meeting a desired criteria using the relative ticket values,displaying the list of desired tickets on a display of the computingsystem, and providing a means for a user to purchase a ticket from thelist of desired tickets. The other steps described in the above methodcan also be provided in the computer code product.

In an embodiment, the present invention includes a method fordynamically determining the optimal selling price for a ticket. Themethod can include aggregating available ticket information for aplurality of tickets related to an event criteria, determining arelative ticket value for each ticket from the plurality of tickets fromthe available ticket information, determining the lowest relative priceor lowest relative premium from the plurality of tickets, and adjustinga price of a seller ticket such that a relative ticket value of theseller ticket is lower than the relative ticket values of similartickets from the plurality of tickets.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method of using an outputted ticket to access agate to an event venue in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown, a user 3101 can use an outputted ticket 3110 on amobile device 3120 to access a turnstile gate 3130 to an event venue3140, or other type of gate, door, or secured entry or exit mechanism.Although the outputted ticket 3110 is shown as a digital QR code shownon the display of the mobile device 3120, the outputted ticket 3110 canalso be a physical printed ticket and can also include bar codes,Datamatrix codes, Microsoft “tags,” and the like. Here, the turnstilegate 3130 includes a scanner 3131 and a turnstile barrier 3132, therotating bars, that allows or restricts access in either direction. Inthis case, when the user scans the outputted ticket 3110 on theturnstile scanner 3131, the outputted ticket 3110 actuates a sensor toinitiate the release of a locking mechanism on the turnstile barrier3132, allowing the user to move through the turnstile gate 3130 toaccess the event venue 3140. In an alternative example, the gate canopen automatically or perform other functions to allow or deny entry ofthe user with the outputted ticket. In an example, access is denied ifthe outputted ticket is invalid in some manner, that is, not authorized,or used, or other imperfection, among others. Of course, there can beother variations, modifications, and alternatives.

FIG. 23 illustrates a method of using an outputted ticket to access adispenser within an event venue in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, a user 3101 can use the same outputtedticket 3110, as in FIG. 23, to access the selection interface 3151 of avending machine 3150. The gate structure can be a vending machineinterface 3151 that includes a scanner 3152, a plurality of dispensingsprings 3153, and a collection slot 3154. The outputted ticket 3110 canunlock the vending machine interface 3151 to provide the user access tothe selection of drinks or snacks that are stored on the dispensingsprings 3153. Once the user selects a particular drink or snack or otheritem, the vending machine 3150 dispenses the item for collection by theuser. In an example, when the user scans the outputted ticket 3110 onthe vending scanner 3151, the outputted ticket 3110 actuates a sensor toinitiate the rotating of at least one of the dispensing springs 3153,releasing one of the stored items and dropping the item into thecollection slot 3154. Of course, there can be other variations,modifications, and alternatives.

In an example, methods of the present invention can further includeoutputting at least one the selected tickets as an outputted ticket andinitiating an entry process to a gate structure at an event venueassociated with the selected tickets. The entry process can includeusing the outputted ticket to access the gate structure. The gatestructure can include an access control gate, a turnstile, a vendingmachine interface, a gaming machine interface, a room door, amerchandise distribution interface, a parking gate, a locker, or apersonal storage unit, or the like. Also, the gate structure can includeany other type of gate, door, or secured entry or exit mechanism. In aspecific example, the outputted ticket, digital or printed, can be usedto unlock or lock a gate structure to deny access or allow entry throughthe gate structure. In an example, the locking/unlocking mechanism isprovided by a device comprising a mechanical latch, a magnetic lock, anelectrical lock, or other latch or lock mechanism. The locking/unlockingmechanism can also include a dispensing spring, a movable gate arm, acomputer chip, or the like. In the unlock case, the outputted ticket canprovide access to receive items such as food, beverages, video games,memorabilia, and the like. The outputted ticket can provide access toenter into a restricted space such as a room, a parking lot, anelevator, and the like. In the lock case, the outputted ticket canprovide a means to restrict access to items or spaces, as describedpreviously. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize othervariations, modifications, and alternatives.

In an example, the gate structure comprises an access control gate, aturnstile, a vending machine interface, a gaming machine interface, aroom door, a merchandise distribution interface, a parking gate, alocker, or a personal storage unit. In an example, the entry processuses the ticket to unlock or lock the gate structure, whereupon theunlocking occurs by actuating a sensor to initiate release of a device,comprising a mechanical latch, a movable gate arm, a magnetic lock, orelectrical lock, to unlock the gate structure; whereupon the lock occursby maintaining the device in a locked state to prevent entry through thegate.

In an example, the present invention provides a computer-implementedmethod for determining a number of open seats to be allocated for saleat a given price for an event during an initial sales period using aticketing system programmed by a computer readable memory to perform themethod. In an example, the method includes one or more or all of thefollowing steps:

-   -   providing, by a processor of the ticketing system, a ticketing        web interface to a computing device via the Internet using a        communications module of the ticketing system;    -   placing, by the processor, an initial set of a plurality of open        seats for sale at a first price via the ticketing web interface        using the communications module, the initial set of the        plurality of open seats having an initial number of open seats;    -   storing, by the processor, information associated with the        initial set of the plurality of open seats in a first portion of        the computer readable memory;    -   reserving, by the processor, at least one seat within a vicinity        to each open seat from the initial set of the plurality of open        seats such that each seat within the vicinity to each open seat        from the initial set of the plurality of open seats is placed in        a hold status, the hold status being not available for sale via        the ticketing web interface;    -   identifying, by the processor, a first number of open seats from        the initial set of the plurality of open seats that have been        sold or are being considered for purchase via the ticketing web        interface using the information associated with the initial set        of the plurality of open seats in the first portion of the        computer readable memory;    -   calculating, by the processor, a second number of the plurality        of open seats to sell at a determined point in time based on a        time dependence of the first number of open seats sold or being        considered for purchase;    -   determining, by the processor, if the initial number of open        seats placed for sale at the first price is smaller than the        second number of open seats that is calculated to sell, and    -   when it is determined that the second number of open seats        projected to sell is greater than the initial number of open        seats placed for sale, releasing, by the processor, a first        released set of the seats placed in the holding status within        the vicinity of each open seat of the initial set of the        plurality of open seats for sale at the first price; and    -   outputting, by the processor, the number of seats that have been        released to the ticketing web interface using the communications        module,    -   wherein the outputting of the number of seats that have been        released causes the ticketing system to update the ticketing web        interface using the communications module to display on the        computing device with the released seats for sale and to enable        a user of the computing device to purchase seats for the event        from an updated set of seats, including the initial set of the        plurality of open sets and the first released set of seats, at        the first price following the initial sales period;    -   outputting to a user a ticket associated with one of the number        of seats that have been released; and    -   using the ticket to open a gate structure associated with a        venue for the event to allow the user to enter into the venue.

In an example, the present invention provides a computer-implementedmethod for determining one or more ticket prices for an unsold inventoryof tickets to an event at a venue by a ticketing system programmed by acomputer memory to perform the method, the method comprising:

-   -   aggregating, by a network coupled the ticketing system, a first        inventory ticket sales data for the event in a storage of the        ticketing system, the first inventory ticket sales data being        aggregated from one or more databases coupled to the network,        the first inventory ticket sales data including ticket sales        data for a first inventory of tickets to the event that are sold        within an initial sale time interval starting from a ticket        sales starting time for the event;    -   receiving, by the network, a first status of the first inventory        of tickets at a first point in time;    -   displaying, by a display of the ticketing system, the first        status of the first inventory on a venue map of the ticketing        system;    -   receiving, by the network, a second status of the first        inventory of tickets at a second point in time;    -   updating, by the processor, the venue map with the second status        of the first inventory;    -   refreshing, by the processor, the venue map with additional        statuses of the first inventory to create a movie of statuses on        the venue map;    -   determining, by a user of the ticketing system, a geographical        seating preference history from the movie of statuses on the        venue map;    -   determining, by a processor of the ticketing system, a first        rate at which the first inventory of tickets have been sold for        the event at the venue using the first inventory ticket sales        data;    -   determining, by the processor, a calculated demand for a second        inventory of tickets to the event, the second inventory of        tickets including the unsold inventory of tickets to the event,        the calculated demand for the second inventory being determined        by a demand function using the first rate at which the first        inventory of tickets have been sold; and    -   determining, by the processor, the one or more ticket prices for        the second inventory of tickets using the calculated demand for        the second inventory and the geographical seating preference        history;    -   outputting one of the tickets;    -   using the ticket that has been outputted to open a gate        structure, using an entry process, associated with a venue for        the event to allow a user to enter into the venue.    -   In any of the above examples, transferring one of the desired        tickets to a user;    -   using the ticket that has been outputted to open a gate        structure, using an entry process, associated with a venue for        the event to allow a user to enter into the venue.

Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, andalternatives.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to store ortransmit the desired information and which can be accessed by thecomputer. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, aperson of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/ormethods to implement the various embodiments.

While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments,various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may beused. Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not betaken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method providing access to a venue using anoptimal ticket, the method comprising: aggregating available ticketinformation for a plurality of tickets related to an event criteria, theavailable ticket information including seat location, a number ofavailable seats, retail ticket price, and price information for asecondary market; determining a relative ticket value for each ticketfrom the plurality of tickets from the available ticket information, therelative value including a premium or discount from the secondarymarket; determining a list of tickets from the plurality of ticketsmeeting a criteria using the relative ticket values; providing the listof tickets; transferring one of the tickets to a user; using the ticketthat has been transferred to mechanically actuate a gate structure,using an entry process, associated with the venue for the event to allowa user to enter into the venue, wherein determining the relative ticketvalue includes determining a fit model for tickets in a row based onprices of other tickets in different rows of the same section for thesame event, and the relative ticket value for each ticket is based atleast in part on applying the fit model to the respective ticket, andwherein providing the list of tickets comprises: identifying a ticketwith a highest relative value, receiving an indication of a thresholdpercentage from the user, identifying all close-in-value tickets havingrespective relative values within the threshold percentage of thehighest relative value, and presenting, to the user, the ticket with thehighest relative value along with all the close-in-value tickets, andpresenting secondary market prices for the ticket with the highestrelative value and all the close-in-value tickets.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the criteria comprises a lowest relative premium, alargest relative discount, or a desired location.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the event criteria comprises a single event, and whereindetermining the relative ticket value comprises: comparing a price orpremium of each ticket from the plurality of tickets to the rest of theplurality of tickets; normalizing the price or premium of each ticketfrom the plurality of tickets by dividing each price or premium by anaverage price or average premium; and comparing the normalized price ornormalized premium of each ticket from the plurality of tickets.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the event criteria comprises two or moreevents, and wherein determining the relative ticket value comprises:comparing a price or premium of each ticket from the plurality oftickets relative to tickets in the plurality of tickets from a similarlocation or having a similar price; normalizing the price or premium ofeach ticket from the plurality of tickets by dividing each price orpremium by an average price or average premium to the same event of thetwo or more events; and comparing the normalized price or normalizedpremium of each ticket from the plurality of tickets across the two ormore events.
 5. The method of claim 1 being implemented in computersystem having a memory, processor, and display; wherein the memorycomprises code directed to the method; and wherein the list of ticketsis displayed on the display.
 6. A non-transitory computer readable mediaincluding computer readable instructions that when executed by acomputer cause the computer to perform steps comprising: aggregatingavailable ticket information for a plurality of tickets related to anevent criteria, the available ticket information including seatlocation, a number of available seats, retail ticket price, and priceinformation for a secondary market; determining a relative ticket valuefor each ticket from the plurality of tickets from the available ticketinformation, the relative value including a premium or discount from thesecondary market; determining a list of tickets from the plurality oftickets meeting a criteria using the relative ticket values; providingthe list of tickets; transferring one of the tickets to a user; usingthe ticket that has been transferred to mechanically actuate a gatestructure, using an entry process, associated with the venue for theevent to allow a user to enter into the venue, wherein determining therelative ticket value includes determining a fit model for tickets in arow based on prices of other tickets in different rows of the samesection for the same event, and the relative ticket value for eachticket is based at least in part on applying the fit model to therespective ticket, and wherein providing the list of tickets comprises:identifying a ticket with a highest relative value, receiving anindication of a threshold percentage from the user, identifying allclose-in-value tickets having respective relative values within thethreshold percentage of the highest relative value, and presenting, tothe user, the ticket with the highest relative value along with all theclose-in-value tickets, and presenting secondary market prices for theticket with the highest relative value and all the close-in-valuetickets.
 7. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 6,wherein the criteria comprises a lowest relative premium, a largestrelative discount, or a desired location.
 8. The non-transitory computerreadable media of claim 6, wherein the event criteria comprises a singleevent, and wherein determining the relative ticket value comprises:comparing a price or premium of each ticket from the plurality oftickets to the rest of the plurality of tickets; normalizing the priceor premium of each ticket from the plurality of tickets by dividing eachprice or premium by an average price or average premium; and comparingthe normalized price or normalized premium of each ticket from theplurality of tickets.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable media ofclaim 6, wherein the event criteria comprises two or more events, andwherein determining the relative ticket value comprises: comparing aprice or premium of each ticket from the plurality of tickets relativeto tickets in the plurality of tickets from a similar location or havinga similar price; normalizing the price or premium of each ticket fromthe plurality of tickets by dividing each price or premium by an averageprice or average premium to the same event of the two or more events;and comparing the normalized price or normalized premium of each ticketfrom the plurality of tickets across the two or more events.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer readable media of claim 6, wherein the list oftickets is displayed on a display.